The Dairy Barn menu was always better than what the average fast-food joint offered, but with Harmony across the booth from him, Jake didn’t even taste his hamburger. Behind her black-rimmed glasses, her eyes sparkled.
“After you left,” she said, taking a sip of her butterscotch milkshake, “a group of ladies came in. It turned out they are romance authors from Pittsburgh. They heard about our collection of Victorian-era books and are doing research. I guided them to a few tidbits of information they hadn’t known to look for.”
“You had fun doing it.” Jake grinned before shoving a French fry into his mouth.
“Honestly, it’s the best part of being a librarian. I’d do nothing but research if I could. But there’s not enough demand in Oak Grove to make it a full-time job.”
“Have you ever considered living anywhere else?”
“Sure. The Smithsonian interviewed me for a position, and I almost took it. But I love this town and when the library offered me a job, I jumped on it.”
“I’ve been to DC a time or two.” His business had involved a ring with a large diamond. “It’s an interesting city, but I didn’t do any sightseeing. I don’t have the patience to stand in line.”
“I’ve always wanted to visit the National Library. Maybe someday.”
Harmony waved, and he turned to see a little girl staring at them. Well, staring at her.
“You have a fan,” Jake grinned.
“She comes in for story hour once in a while. I suspect those are her grandparents.”
“I won’t argue with you. If you looked up grandparents in the dictionary, they’d be the perfect illustration.” The sparkling gem dangling around the grandmother’s neck tempted him, but as long as they lived locally, they were off-limits.
They shared a comfortable silence while they worked on their food. Jake used the time to come up with a plan to delay the hoped-for trip to Harmony’s bed. If he’d learned anything, it was that anticipation was her favorite kind of foreplay. He settled for an old standby.
“Do you want to go for a walk after this?” he asked, as they waited for the waitress to bring the one brownie they’d agreed to share.
“It’s cold. In fact, we had snow last week. Do you think you can handle it?” she teased with a broad smile.
He leaned forward so his words were for her alone. “You’ve already got me hot. I’ll keep you warm.”
She waved her hand in front of her face as a deep red colored her cheeks. “Oh, my.”
Jake chuckled in satisfaction.
“I’m going to need you to step away from the freezer, Jake. You’re melting the ice,” she said with a grin.
He should have known she wouldn’t give up easily. She’d beat him at this game, but he’d make his best shot with lines he remembered from high school. “Did you just come out of the oven? Because you’re too hot to handle.”
The grin got bigger, and she waggled her eyebrows. “That’s a nice shirt. Can I talk you out of it?”
“If you were a library book, I’d check you out,” he replied, putting on his poker face.
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know whether to give you extra points for that one, because it’s relevant, or take one away because I’ve heard it more than once. But here’s mine. You’re so hot, you must be the cause of global warming.”
Something about a volcano and lava. Jake reached for the memory, but he couldn’t grab it. He was saved by the arrival of the waitress, and the sight of the treat inspired him. “I didn’t think there was anything hotter than a good brownie, but, hey! Here you are.”
The server, a middle-aged woman, put the dessert plate down, followed by clean forks. Then she placed one hand on her hip and cocked her head. “I’ll give you four stars for that. Start with two because that line is as old as the pyramids. Add one, because you switched it up to match the occasion. Then I throw in another star out of sympathy, because I pity the fool who thinks they can outdo Harmony in a game of wits.”
Jake pulled a fresh napkin out of the holder and swung it in the air. “I surrender. It’s bad enough trying to keep up with one smart lady, but I have no chance against the two of you.”
Harmony giggled. “Jake, meet Melody. She’s a volunteer at the library.”
“Just the person I need!” He winked at Melody. “Got any secrets to keep up with her?”
“Against her, you mean?” Melody chuckled. “Nice try, but not a chance. I’m the one who has to work with her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other customers.”
“I like her.” Jake eyed the brownie, figuring out where halfway was before he cut it.
Harmony took that decision out of his hands. She cut it herself, pushing a piece towards him and taking the other half. “Don’t let the fact that she’s working as a server fool you. She practically runs this place.”
Jake concentrated on his share of dessert. How would Harmony react if she found out that he’d been lying to her all along?
There were only a few other people in the park, but Jake limited himself to holding Harmony’s hand. When he stuck his other hand into his jacket pocket, he discovered the remnants of the pot he’d bought in Cleveland. He considered dropping the baggie in a garbage can if the opportunity presented itself, but surely no one would bother them. They were only strolling down the sidewalk.
When they stopped to admire the crimson rays of the setting sun coloring the marshmallow clouds, he caught sight of a cop car cruising down the street, seemingly going nowhere in particular. It was enough to set off alarm bells.
Jake slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and opened the bag. There’d be no point in trying to dump the whole thing in a trash container. But, bit by bit, he could take out small amounts and scatter them on the breeze. The less he had on him, the more minor the charges leveled against him.
“Do you smell that?” Harmony asked as they strolled along the shore of the little pond, edged with the first spring flowers.
Jake made a show out of sniffing. “What does it smell like?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Hay? Or skunk? Or both? I can’t figure it out.”
“Skunks? The city keeps skunks in the park?”
She poked him in the side. “Don’t be silly. But every once in a while, one wanders in from the country, and they have to set live traps to catch and get rid of it.”
Two cars pulled into the parking lot across the pond. One of them appeared to be an unmarked cop car. The other was an old Mustang, but that didn’t eliminate the possibility of the driver being a police informant. Was a sting about to go down and he and Harmony would become accidental participants? The odds weren’t in their favor.
“What’s wrong, Jake?”
The oldest excuse in the book should do. “Something isn’t sitting right in my stomach. Can we head back?”
She held her wrist to his forehead. “You’re not running a fever.”
“That’s good. But I don’t want you to catch this, so let’s take you home and I’ll head to the motel.”
They turned and started the return trip to the car, stopping once in a while so Jake could pretend that he was swallowing back rising nausea. That gave him the opportunity to get rid of more of the weed. He’d scattered all the big flower buds and had nothing but shake left when two men stepped into the path in front of them. Cops. One in uniform, one in plain clothes. And from the footsteps coming from behind them, a third. They’d brought reinforcements.
“Mr. Jake Hennessey?” the plainclothes officer asked.
Clearly a formality. “Yes. And you are, Detective?” They didn’t ‘feel’ like the Feds, based on the rumpled brown business suit the man wore, so Jake assumed this was a local operation.
The detective arched an eyebrow. “Thomason. Detective Fred Thomason. Oak Grove Police. We have a warrant for your arrest.”